As the City Government takes over camp coordiAnation and camp management (CCCM) duties and responsibilities in the different transitory sites, Mayor Beng Climaco reaffirmed her administration’s commitment to building back better Zamboanga.

Mayor Climaco, who led the City Social Welfare and Development Office and other cluster heads in accepting the CCCM responsibility from Social Welfare Assistant Secretary Vilma Cabrera, said the local government will exhaust all efforts to ensure the smooth implementation of Zamboanga Roadmap to Recovery and Reconstruction (Z3R) plan. She expressed belief that the task of looking after the recovery and rehabilitation of the city and the affected families will be easy and manageable with the support of all the agencies and partners.

The mayor urged the CSWDO under Socorro Rojas, who will take the lead in the CCCM duties and responsibilities to closely coordinate with concerned agencies and partners to guarantee smooth performance of CCCM duties. She likewise called on camp managers, who are the people on the ground to serve the best they can for the well-being of the IDPs.

The handover of the CCCM responsibilities from the DSWD to the City Government was held April 24 with ASEC leading the ceremony at the City Hall conference room.

Since the start of the Zamboanga response, the DSWD regional office with the support of the humanitarian partners took charge of CCCM responsibilities. But, as the city moves from crisis to early recovery stage, the CCCM has to be turned over to the local government unit.

The mayor thanked the DSWD and humanitarian agencies for continuously supporting and assisting the city government of Zamboanga through various interventions for the benefit of the affected families.

A total of 10 recovery or temporary shelters have been set up with one remaining evacuation center located at the Joaquin Enriquez Memorial Sports complex or grandstand. However, the grandstand evacuation center is set to close anytime soon, with the scheduled movement of the remaining 679 families to the expected to close down with the scheduled transfer of the families to the Mampang transitory sites. — Sheila Covarrubias